Superintendent Sets Goals For Future In Final 'State Of Schools' Report

February 26, 2014|By JULIE STAGIS, The Hartford Courant

WEST HARTFORD — In her last "State of the Schools" address to the school board, Superintendent Karen List on Wednesday laid out several goals for the future, including reducing the opportunity gap and shifting away from an intense focus on standardized tests and teacher evaluations.

"We're at a time of unprecedented change due to the [state's] No Child Left Behind waiver and the consequences of that," said List, who is retiring this year.

As a result of the waiver for the federal program, the state was required to come up with its own plans, resulting in new standards, new curricula, new teacher and administrator evaluations and new metrics, all of which are underway in West Hartford this year. The schools also have a renewed focus on security after the Sandy Hook School shootings.

On top of those factors, health care and pension costs are rising, and federal and state support for schools is likely decrease in the future, she said.

Despite the pressures, List said, the district is in good shape: Among other accomplishments, several schools and teachers received awards this year, and both high schools were named to the top 10 in the state by U.S. News & World Report.

List made several suggestions that she said would enable the district to continue with the "Model of Continuous Improvement."

With the exception of facilities improvements, like upgrading high school science labs and auditoriums, most of List's recommendations focused on policy and the teaching process.

"I urge you to reduce the opportunity gap," in part by offering pre-kindergarten classes at all 11 elementary schools, she said, and to eventually require all high school students to complete a capstone project before graduating. List said she also would like to see students taking more responsibility for their learning.

While List said the curriculum should be tightly aligned with the new Smarter Balanced Assessments, "standardized testing should not be high stakes," she added.

In addition, she called the current teacher evaluation model "over-engineered" and said the district should "move away from teacher/administrator ratings."

"I think we're better than that," she said. "I urge everyone to keep an eye on measuring what is valued instead of valuing only what can be easily measured."

Earlier in the meeting, the board adopted a $46.31 million capital improvement plan for 2014-15, which includes $42 million for the new Charter Oak International Academy, $3.96 million for various building improvements and $350,000 for school security upgrades.

The town manager can incorporate some or all of the recommendations into the town's overall capital improvement plan, which must go to a vote of the town council as part of the overall budget.